Photonics Dictionary

A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into a solid gain medium, resulting in the generation of coherent light. This...

Also called DLIP, a high-speed, high-resolution processing technique that uses high-power, pulsed laser systems to directly ablate micro- and nanoperiodic structures with different features on large...

Directed energy refers to a type of energy that is emitted and transferred in a controlled direction. The term is often associated with military and technological applications where energy, typically...

A dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) refers to a type of optical fiber designed to minimize the effects of chromatic dispersion, which is the phenomenon where different wavelengths of light travel at...

A spectrophotometer that measures the amount of ozone in the atmosphere through a comparison of solar energy at two wavelengths in the ozone's absorption band. This comparison is achieved by...

Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The design of double-clad fibers allows them to be used in various...

The formation of an interferogram by means of two holograms on the same recording medium, often used for determining small changes in an object. One hologram produces a primary image that constitutes...

A mode of laser printing in which each pixel is printed four times, providing sharper lines and a continuous tone from one-quarter the amount of image data, compared with single-raster output.

An edge-emitting light-emitting diode is a type of LED structure where light emission occurs primarily along the edge of the semiconductor chip rather than from the surface. Edge-emitting LEDs are...

Any lamp whose emission of radiant energy is dependent upon the passage of an electrical current through the emissive medium.

A lamp that uses the transmission of an electric current through a gas or vapor to produce illumination. Neon, mercury and argon lamps are examples of electric-discharge lamps.

An electro-optic deflector is a device that can change the direction of light beams using an electric field. It operates based on the electro-optic effect, which involves the modulation of the...

An electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device used to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light waves using an external electrical signal. Electro-optic modulation is a fundamental...

1. The branch of physics that deals with the use of electrical energy to create or manipulate light waves, generally by changing the refractive index of a light-propagating material; 2....

The term "embedded laser" typically refers to a laser device that is integrated or embedded into a larger system or structure. In this context, "embedded" implies that the laser is an integral part...

An arc lamp whose carbon electrodes are enclosed in a transparent chamber, resulting in an arc that is steadier, lasts longer and emits more ultraviolet radiation.

Epitaxial refers to the growth of a crystalline layer on a crystalline substrate in such a way that the orientation of the crystal lattice of the growing layer is related to that of the substrate. In...

An Er:YAG laser is a type of solid-state laser that uses a crystal made of erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:Y3Al5O12) as the gain medium. The erbium (Er) ions are introduced into the crystal...

The addition to the information signal in communications of redundant bits that enable the originally encoded message to be decoded without degradation of the data. In compact disc technology, the...

Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers, interferometers, and cameras. It is characterized by the appearance of interference...

An event-based image sensor, also known as a dynamic vision sensor (DVS), is a type of digital imaging device designed to capture visual information in a highly efficient and unique way compared to...

A factor, F, indicating the increase in shot noise in an avalanche photodiode as compared with the ideal multiplier, which is noiseless. The noise, which results from variations in avalanche gains,...

A small incandescent lamp whose intense beam is focused on the optical soundtrack of a motion picture film. The soundtrack modulates the beam, which in turn is detected by a photocell that produces...

The ratio of the power of a plane-polarized beam that is transmitted through a polarizer placed in its path with its polarizing axis parallel to the beam's plane, as compared with the transmitted...

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. EUV radiation has wavelengths between 10 and 124 nanometers, which...

A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of femtoseconds, where one femtosecond is equal to 10-15 seconds. These lasers are capable of...

A standard for fiber optic data transmission systems being developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and associated working groups that will make fiber optic components from...

A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as erbium, ytterbium, or neodymium. Fiber lasers generate coherent light through...

A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is a type of gyroscope that uses the interference of light waves to detect changes in orientation or rotation. It operates based on the principle of the Sagnac effect,...

A fiber optic imaging bundle is a specialized optical device composed of multiple optical fibers bundled together. Each fiber optic strand within the bundle acts as a conduit for transmitting light....

A fiber optic sensor is a device that uses optical fibers to detect and measure physical, chemical, biological, or environmental parameters. Unlike traditional electrical sensors, fiber optic sensors...

A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to transmit light from a source to a spectrometer unit, where the light is...

A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic communications to transmit and receive data over optical fibers. It integrates both a...

A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the purpose of efficient light transmission. In this configuration, the LED serves...

The field of view (FOV) refers to the extent of the observable world or the visible area that can be seen at any given moment through a device, such as an optical instrument, camera, or sensor. It is...

A type of interferometer noted for producing narrow multiple-beam interference fringes. As a result, when compared with the Twyman-Green, the Fizeau interferometer has fewer optical components, does...

A device that converts stored electrical energy into light by means of a sudden electrical discharge.

A flexible display refers to a type of electronic visual display that is designed to be bendable, foldable, or rollable, allowing for unconventional form factors and enhanced portability. Unlike...

The fluctuation in apparent illumination that has a rate comparable to the reciprocal of the period of persistence in vision.

In various fields such as fluid dynamics, microfluidics, and biotechnology, a flow channel refers to a defined pathway through which a fluid (liquid or gas) flows. The channel can be of various...

Fluorescence is a type of luminescence, which is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. Specifically, fluorescence involves the absorption of...

Fluorescent proteins are proteins that exhibit the property of fluorescence, which is the ability to absorb light at a specific wavelength and emit light at a longer wavelength. These proteins are...

The photographic recording of a visible image formed by the impact of invisible radiation on a fluorescent screen.

A fluorophore is a molecule or a portion of a molecule that has the ability to emit light upon excitation by an external energy source, such as ultraviolet or visible light. The process by which a...

An instrument used to detect the fluorescence emitted by a source in comparison with a reference.